ACC Coastal Division Up for Grabs

The Atlantic Coast Conference has a clear frontrunner for the Atlantic Division crown after this weekend’s results. With a win in Tallahassee Saturday night, the Seminoles have set themselves far ahead of the rest of the pack and will be hard to catch. But while the Atlantic Division may be figured out, the Coastal division is up in the air. After an embarrassing loss at the hands of former Big East comrade Pittsburgh, Virginia went from a clear-cut favorite to just another team trying to recover. I’d like to take a look at each team from the Coastal Division and see what their odds of winning a trip to Charlotte are.

Georgia Tech: Georgia Tech was viewed as a contender during the preseason, as they returned most of their explosive offense and a good bit of a decent defense. However, they were set behind in the race with a Week 1 loss to Virginia Tech. They put themselves back in a spot of power with a statement win over Virginia, but their schedule is still full of traps.

Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech is one of the most consistent teams in the country, churning out 10-win seasons year after year. One thing they have not yet done consistently is win in the postseason. VT received a lot of hype early in the season, mainly due to having “the next Cam Newton,” Logan Thomas at quarterback. What people didn’t realize is that without a strong supporting cast, Logan Thomas would have major problems replicating last year’s success. And after the humiliating upset loss that caused them to drop like Arkansas after the UL-Monroe game, their entire season may be in jeopardy.

Virginia: I’ve been getting a lot of heat over the last month or so, as I had picked Virginia as my preseason favorite to win the ACC Coastal. After the Georgia Tech loss, many people just gave up on the Cavaliers. But I’m not selling on them yet. Mike London is a good coach with a  fundamentally sound team. Sure, Georgia Tech ran over them, but the Yellow Jackets already have one conference loss. If Virginia can win the rest of their conference games, they will be playing in Bank of America Stadium during championship week.

Duke:Hold onto your hats, football fans. Believe it or not, Duke may be able to make a run for the Coastal Division crown. They have a high-powered passing offense behind quarterback Sean Renfree, and their only loss is to a now-top 10 Stanford squad that was able to overpower  preseason championship favorite USC. Duke’s main issue will be with injuries. If they can stay healthy, and limit their conference losses to maybe Clemson and one other squad, they could very well land a spot in the ACC Championship game.

Miami: Miami is in a strange situation. Due to the scandal exposed at the beginning of last season, Miami tried to quell the flames of the NCAA’s wrath and self-imposed a postseason ban. This year, they might elect to do the same thing, but it is not yet certain. They have one of the best offensive freshman players in the country in running back Duke Johnson. If they impose another postseason ban, they obviously have no chance, but if not, don’t count them out.

North Carolina: North Carolina is last on the list with no chance at making it to Charlotte, even if they went undefeated in conference play (which is already impossible after a loss to Wake Forest in week 2). North Carolina was on the receiving end of a postseason ban, so while they could technically still win the ACC Coastal, they wouldn’t make the trip to the ACC Championship game. And while it’s unfortunate that the ban occurred, UNC could be in a place to act as a spoiler and prevent other teams from getting to Charlotte.

It’s hard to predict after these first few weeks how the rest of the season will turn out. But looking at the games so far, I will still stand by my prediction and go with the University of Virginia winning the Coastal Division crown. They had one bad game against Georgia Tech, but Georgia Tech will most likely have at least two more conference losses and will put Virginia in a prime spot. And if they do make it, expect head coach Mike London to get plenty of job offers from big-name programs.

Until Next time, God Bless, and Go Tigers!